Let's Hear It For The Buoys

Lobster’s ascent from prison rations to five-star fare wouldn’t have been possible without that iconic New England memento, the lobster trap buoy.

ALONG THE COAST OF MAINE, from April until September, thousands of brightly colored buoys float like specks of confetti on the ocean, each marking a trap belonging to a local fisherman. Buoys have been in use since the beginning of lobster fishing, as they are the only way for a fisherman to know where his traps lay. They are his link to his job and community.
     But before traps and buoys existed, before lobster fishing became a million-dollar industry, lobsters were considered “poverty food:” unvalued, and largely unwanted.  
     In the early nineteenth century, lobsters were so abundant they could be harvested by hand from the shoreline. Unable to stay fresh more than a few days, lobster was frequently served to prisoners and indentured servants, who often grew tired of constantly eating it. Then, in the 1820s, the smack boat was created. Built with a tank that allowed water to circulate, it became possible to travel with lobster over long distances. Available in major cities for the first time, lobster’s popularity grew.
     Throughout the century, the lobster fishing industry exploded, fueled further by the develop-ment of the wooden lath trap. Fishermen could drop hundreds of traps at a time, maximizing their odds while minimizing their effort. The industry peaked around 1892, when 2,600 Maine fishermen harvested nearly 8,000 metric tons of lobster.
     With thousands of traps in use, fishermen needed a way to find their own. As a matter of practi-cality, lobstermen began carving and painting their own wooden buoys in a variety of different styles. The colors chosen for buoys are, according to Maine Maritime Museum curator Chris Hall, “a great source of family pride, and can be passed down, or passed along to a protégé upon retirement.” The colors allow a fisherman to spot his buoys even in the most inclement of weather, and ensure that another cannot take his lobsters, as all fishermen must also display their buoy colors visibly on their vessels.
     Today, buoys are generally made from foam, with the old wooden types decorating seafood restaurants or for sale on eBay. They are still color-coded, with some patterns starting to repeat in different locations. But, as Chris Hall says, “that’s not an issue, as long as there’s no mixing up locally.”
    Whatever the material, the colors are taken seriously: those rainbow flashes on the water are literally markers of a fisherman’s lifeline and prosperity.

Originally published in the Summer 2016 issue of The Coastal Table.